Blurry Dhaka (SPECIAL MENTION)  Amy Brathwaite
08/05/2006 Dhaka, Bangladesh
"Blurry Dhaka" captures the bustling chaos of Dhaka. The two women in the photograph are young garment workers, who work long hours making clothing that is largely sold in the western world. Some individuals find this work exploitive, where as Jeffrey Sachs described this as the "bottom rung of the development ladder". During my work placement in Bangladesh, I met a few garment workers who were proud of their job, that they earned their own money, and that it delayed the age until they were married. As I went to work at UNDP each day, I would watch in awe as hundreds, perhaps thousands of young women would walk to work in the early morning light. They were be laughing, smiling and talking with each other, the light catching all the diverse colors of their shalwar kameezes. To me, this photograph is the essence of Bangladesh.

If garment workers are on the "bottom rung of the economic ladder" (Sachs, 2005), at least these young women are participants. Their jobs enable them to have some freedom of participation, to contribute to their household, to their families and to earn their own money. These young women work long and treacherous hours, but they are active participants in Bangladesh's economy. In an impoverished society, these women are making a contribution, however difficult.

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January 2007/Kolkata
(SPECIAL MENTION) Kingshuk Chakravarty

This photo was taken in Purulia (Kolkata) in the month of January 2007. I was just overwhelmed observing that some children were participating in learning “idol-making” unitedly and whole-heartedly. Their form, color and perspective attracted me and the result is this photo. In my view education and learning practical skills represent the only means that can wipe out poverty and other evils from the world and of course spread peace. Through education children of our society are not left behind. They are given a proper chance to learn and let learn. For these reasons this is an "IMAGE OF SOCIAL INCLUSION" showing people who - irrespective of gender, age and status - are being educated through practical experiences.